Archery target mat



1962 A. DISHON 3,048,401

ARCHERY TARGET MAT Filed May 19, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

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ALONZO DISH ON F Lwjj W mm ATTORNEYS 7, 1962 A. DISHON 3,048,401

ARCHERY TARGET MAT Filed May 19, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN T OR.

ALONZO DISHON I BYGLMQW Gum ATTORNEYS hired rates Patent EJMEAM Patented Aug. 7, 1952 3,048,401 ARCl-ERY TARGET MAT Alonzo Dishon, 3249 Biddle Ave, Wyaudotte, Mich. Filed May 19, 1960, Ser. No. 39,205 3 Claims. (Cl. 273-402) This invention relates to an archery target mat upon which an archery target may be mounted.

An archery target mat is usually formed as a large bulky, relatively soft object, upon which a target may be mounted. It functions to support the target and also stop an arrow shot through the target as well as to hold the arrow in place until manually removed.

Mats of this type have ordinarily been constructed out of marsh grass or straw, tightly packed together and tied into a large, circular, relatively fiat pad. These mats have certain disadvantages. For example, they tend to disintegrate when left out of doors any substantial period of time and they are susceptible to damage due to water from rain and the like. in addition, they are extremely heavy to pick up and move about. Thus, a large size, standard target mat would require the services of two men to lift up and move. Further, because of the material of which they are made, they give off a strong odor and thus are undesirable for use for indoor archery practice. Likewise, they are unsuitable for indoor archery practice because they are a fire hazard and are susceptible to spontaneous combustion.

Thus, it is an object of this invention to form an archery target mat which is of a suflicient size to support a target and will stop the arrows and support them as required, but which is extremely lightweight, extremely inexpensive to manufacture, is substantially unaffected by weathering and thus has a long life, and is fire resistant and odor-proof.

Another object of this invention is to form such an archery target mat with a replaceable center core so that as the center core becomes damaged due to repeated piercing of arrows, it may be removed and replaced with another inexpensive center core, thus prolonging the life of the mat.

Still another object of this invention is to form an archery target mat out of a roll of fluted type cardboard, wherein an arrow may pierce the mat between the flutes and be retained in place by the cardboard and be easily removed therefrom without damage to the arrows.

Still another object of this invention is to form such a mat out of a spirally wound roll of fluted cardboard with the cardboard being coated with a latex or latex-like substance to thus weatherproof the cardboard and prevent damage due to water or weather conditions, and with the latex functioning as an adhesive to adhere the various adjacent layers together and in addition, as a friction grip means to frictionally slow down and stop the arrows as they pierce the mat.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent upon reading the following description of which the attached drawings form a part.

In these drawings:

FIG. 1 is an elevation view of a mat with the target secured thereto.

FIG. 2 is an elevation of the mat, per se.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation View.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken in the direction of arrows 4- 4 of FIG. 1, but showing the parts disassembled.

FlG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a fragment of the fluted cardboard of which the roll is formed FIG. 6 is an enlarged view and shows several layers of the fluted cardboard adjacent one another.

FIG. 7 is a front elevation of a modification.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken in the direction of arrows 8-8 of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a rear elevation, with the rear cover removed, taken in the direction of zurows 99 of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a side view of the rear cover per se, and

FIG. 11 is a front elevation of the cover taken in the direction of arrows 1111 of FIG. 10.

The mat herein is generally designated as 10, and as shown in FIG. 1, a standard archery target 11 is secured to the front face 12 of the mat. The target is usually made out of paper or cardboard and has a printed bullseye or other design thereon and is secured to the mat by means of tacks or the like.

The fluted cardboard 15 of which the mat is made, is formed of a thin, narrow, elongated cardboard strip 16 and a second sheet 17. The sheet 17 is corrugated or ridged with uniform corrugations or ridges and is adhered to one face of the strip 16. This is a conventional type of paper packaging product which can be bought commercially, and thus, no further description of this need be given. The elongated strip including the corrugated second sheet is preferably dipped continuously through a bath of latex or rubber-like compound in order to coat the exposed surfaces thereof for reasons to be given below.

Once the strip has been coated, it is rolled into a tight, spiral wound roll of a suitable diameter to fit the target as shown in FIG. 1. The side edges of the strip 16 and corrugated sheet 17 form the front and back flat surfaces of the mat.

The latex coating 19 functions to first, weather-proof and protect the cardboard sheets against deterioration due to Weathering. Secondly it functions as an adhesive to adhere the successive layers of the spiral roll together.

Thirdly, it functions as a friction grip to slow down and grip the arrows as they penetrate the roll and also to prevent the arrows from falling out of the mat.

The roll is so made that the corrugations or ridges are transverse to the strip 16, that is, they extend from front to rear of the flat faces of the mat.

In target shooting contests, and in target practice by expert archers, the arrows most frequently strike at the center of the target or mat and thus, the center portion wears out very quickly. Previously, the entire mat had to be dis carded because of the damage to the center part. Here, a removable center section or core 22 is provided. Thus, the center area or core 22 fits within an outside, doughnut shaped, area 23 having a central opening 24. The central area 22 is simply frictionally held in place Within the opening 24 and can be easily knocked out and replaced with another identical roll. Thus, the life of the mat is greatly prolonged and damage to the center area does not spread to the outer areas.

For indoor archery practice, it is necessary to insure that an arrow will not completely pass through the mat and strike a wall surface upon which the mat is mounted, such as an inside wall in someones home. This could happen if sufficient force is used and the archer is sufliciently close to the target. Thus, to insure against this, a backing pad 26 formed of a relatively thick sheet of rubber or the like resilient material is adhered to the rear surface 21 of the mat by a suitable adhesive or fastener. Then, a plurality of spacers 27, which may likewise be formed of rubber or rubber-like material are secured at isolated points upon the exposed rear surface of the pad 26. Then, the mat may be mounted upon a Wall 28.

With this arrangement, an arrow, if it is shot with sufficient force, will penetrate the mat but upon striking the resilient pad or sheet 26, will be stopped by it and the sheet will yield away from the arrow towards the Wall because it is spaced from the Wall and thus it will not damage the arrow point and will not be penetrated by the arrow point.

t can be seen that, with the spiral wound construction of the mat, the arrows penetrate the mat in the same direction as the flutes run and thus, the arrow tends to strike between the flutes and the strip 16 and thereby cause only nominal damage to the mat. The latex coating yields when an arrow contacts it and yet, it frictionally grips the arrow to slow it down and stop it.

While the particular type of cardboard used can be varied considerably, in one model which I have made up, I found a cardboard manufactured by Consolidated Paper Company of Monroe, Michigan, designated as catalog No. 19C, fluted cardboard, to be quite suitable for this purpose. Likewise, while the coating material could be any latex or rubber-like compound or plastic which has the desired characteristics, I have used a product made by Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Michigan, identified as Dow Latex No. 762-W.

At times it may also be desirable to apply a thin lubricant coating over the latex coating of the mat after the mat is spirally wound to shape. The lubricant may be applied by selecting any suitable, commercially available lubricant, as for example that sold by the Standard Oil Company of Indiana and labeled Petrolatum, and thinning it with a volatile solvent to form a bath and then by dipping the mat into the bath. When the solvent evaporates, a thin coating remains.

I have found that, while such a thin lubricant coating does reduce the friction of the latex somewhat and hence permits the arrow to penetrate the mat deeper, it also makes it considerably easier to pull the arrow out of the mat.

The outer diameter of the mat will vary with the size of the target to be used. For short range shooting, the target may only be six or twelve inches in outside size and the mat need not be much bigger. However, for outdoor long range shooting, the mat may be in the area of 48 inches in diameter with a thickness of about six inches. Despite its bulk, the mat is extremely light weight and can be easily handled even by a small child.

1V1 odi fication FIGS. 7ll show a modification which is an alternative way to mount the mat It) on a Wall or to otherwise support the mat. In this modification, the mat which is the same as described above, is inserted into an exterior cylinder 49. This cylinder may be made of cardboard or the like which is rigid and stiff. The front face 12 on the mat is exposed at the front open end of the cylinder. However, the rear face 21 is well within the cylinder and spaced from the rear open end of the cylinder. The resilient sheet or pad 26a is here formed in a square shape wherein its corners 44 are turned at right angles to the main body of the sheet and are secured by rivets or other mechanical fastening means 45 to the wall of the cylinder between the rear open end thereof and the rear face 21 of the mat. It can be seen, that the resilient sheet 26a is somewhat larger than that previously described in connection with the modification of FIGS. 14. Also, the center body portion of the resilient sheet 26a is in face to face contact with the rear face 21 of the mat.

Resilient blocks 46 are secured to the wall of the cylinder and extend inwardly of the cylinder a short distance to press against the sheet 26a and spring or resiliently bias it against the rear face 21 of the mat. These blocks may be formed of rubber or some suitable resilient plastic material,

In addition, the rear open end of the cylinder is closed by a cover 52 which fits within the opening of the cylinder and is secured thereto by any suitable fastening means. The cover is provided with a center resilient block 4% secured at its center and extending axially of the cylinder a sufficient distance to press against the center of the sheet 26a. Thus, the center of the sheet is also pressed against the rear face 21 of the mat.

With this construction, the cylinder containing the mat may be secured against a wall or supported upon legs or otherwise held for archery target practice. In the event that an arrow pierces the mat because it was shot with sufficient force at a close enough distance, it will strike the rubber sheet Zea and this sheet will resiliently yield towards the cover 42 to thus stop the arrow and prevent it from going beyond the cover. The blocks 46 and 4-8 absorb part of the load of the arrow striking the sheet and also serve to urge the sheet back into contact with the rear face of the mat when the arrow is removed.

This invention may be further developed within the scope of the following attached claims. Accordingly, it is desired that the foregoing description be read as being merely illustrative of an operative embodiment of this invention and not in a strictly limiting sense.

I claim:

1. An archery target mat for supporting and backing a target, comprising a cylindrically shaped roll of fluted cardboard formed of an elongated, narrow strip of thin, flat cardboard having a second sheet of uniformly corrugated cardboard adhered to and covering the face of the strip, with the corrugation arranged transverse to the strip and thus axially of the cylindrical shape of the roll, and the strip being tightly and spirally wound into a roll, with the side edges of the strip and second sheet forming flat front and rear faces of the mat transverse to the axis of the roll, said mat being surrounded by and snugly fitted within a rigid open ended cylinder, with the fiat front face of the mat being exposed at one open end of the cylinder and the mat rear flat face being within the cylinder and spaced a distance from the opposite open end of the cylinder, a relatively thick, resilient sheet formed with corners, arranged in face to face contact with the rear face of the mat and spaced a distance from said opposite open end of the cylinder, but with its corners bent at right angles to the sheet and secured to the wall of the cylinder between the mat rear face and the said opposite open end, the sheet portion between its corners being moveable, under impact of an arrow, towards said opposite open end of the cylinder and away from the rear face of the mat.

2. A construction as defined in claim 1 and including resilient blocks secured to the wall of the cylinder between the corners of the resilient sheet and extending inwardly of the cylinder a short distance and being pressed against the resilient sheet to resiliently press the resilient sheet against the rear face of the mat.

3. A construction as defined in claim 2 and including a cover, covering the said opposite open end of the cylinder and a resilient block secured to the cover and extending axially of the cylinder a short distance and pressing against the center of the resilient sheet to press it against the mat rear face.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,837,627 Mead et al Dec. 22, 1931 

